JF-Expert Member

Geological data gathered by the American oil company Anadarko in northern Mozambique provide promising signs that there could be large reserves of oil in the Rovuma Basin on the border with Tanzania.

Anadarko officials told Mozambican President Armando Guebuza of their optimism when he visited the company's headquarters in Houston, Texas, at the weekend. They intend to follow up initial seismic surveys with exploratory drilling next year, to determine whether this area, in the province of Cabo Delgado, really does have commercially viable oil reserves.

"From what we have managed to ascertain during the exploration so far, we feel more motivated than ever to take further steps", declared Tim Tirlia, manager of Anadarko's international drilling operations. "We have already decided to start drilling, probably as from January, but certainly by June next year". During the company's presentation of its work to Guebuza's delegation, video images were shown that indicate similar geological formations to those found in oil bearing areas in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska and Malaysia.

"We are very enthusiastic about the results we have found in the Rovuma Basin", Anadarko Vice-President Frank J. Patterson told Guebuza. "In this comparison with the geological characteristics of other basins, where large reserves of oil were discovered, we see that the Rovuma Basin displays the same geological configurations which lead us to be almost certain that oil is there".

The favourable geology is both onshore and under deep waters off the Cabo Delgado coast. "We're very optimistic about what we've detected, and so we shall soon start the drilling. That is the final stage which will tell us whether or not there is oil in the basin", said Patterson. In the opinion of Ade Adeleye, a specialist in drilling in deep water, there is a greater likelihood of finding large oil reserves in the deep waters offshore, rather than in the onshore blocks. Adeleye told AIM that Anadarko intends to drill six wells between 2008 and 2012, four offshore, and two onshore.

Such operations, particularly in deep water, are costly and complex - but there is no other way of confirming the presence of oil and estimating the size of reserves. If oil is indeed found, Anadarko hopes to start exploiting it as early as 2009.

Asked whether the hypothetical reserves in the Rovuma Basin are not likely to be shared between Mozambique and Tanzania, Adeleye said that the data so far were more promising on the Mozambican side of the basin. However, it is already known that there is at least some oil in the southern Tanzanian region of Sanga Sanga.

During his working visit to Houston, Guebuza visited one of the Anadarko platforms off the Texas coast, where he was briefed on how oil is extracted in deep waters. Guebuza said that, if oil is indeed discovered in Mozambique, it should be exploited by a company capable of doing so competently, without damaging the local eco-system.